The wait is finally over for the ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup 2023, which is set to commence today. India hosts the mega tournament.
Table of Contents
The 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup 2023 (CWC23), set in One Day International (ODI) format, is set to start today. The tournament is held after a period of four years; the last time was in 2019, hosted by England and Wales. This time, the mega tournament will be held in India, where cricket is like a religion. The tournament will commence today, October 5, and conclude on November 19.
Schedule of the World Cup
In this edition, ten countries will be taking part. The participating teams are as follows: India (host), Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Australia, England, Netherlands, and South Africa. The tournament will be played in a single-round robin format without any groups. For the full schedule of the matches, check the ICC’s official site.
A total of 48 matches will be played in this edition across ten venues in India. Each team will be playing nine group matches, and the top four teams will qualify for the semifinals. The teams must win six matches from the nine group matches for qualifying. The semifinals will be played on November 15 and November 16. Followed by the final on November 19.
No opening ceremony this time
In a new move, there will be no opening ceremony for the World Cup this time. The last time the subcontinent hosted the event, it was followed by a mega opening ceremony in Dhaka. Instead of the opening ceremony, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have decided to conduct a ‘captains day’, involving all the captains of the ten teams. The event will be at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
It’s strange that a big sporting event like the Cricket World Cup will have no opening ceremony. This move made cricket fans angry, who took to social media to express their anger. All the cricket fans are excited for the tournament. India hosted the tournament in 2011, and almost 12 years have passed, but all the memories are as fresh as yesterday.
England vs. New Zealand in the opener
The opening match will be played between the champions of the last edition of the World Cup, England, and the runners-up of the same edition, New Zealand. The high-voltage match will have the toss at 1:30 PM (IST), and after half an hour, at 2:00 PM (IST), the match will start. Five minutes before the start of play, national anthems will be sung by both teams.
England’s Squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingston, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, and Chris Woakes.
Players to watch out for in CWC23: Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Mark Wood.
New Zealand’s Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, and Will Young.
Players to watch out for in CWC23: Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Glenn Phillips, and Kane Williamson.
India’s Chances
India has not won an ICC trophy in the last ten years. The last instance of India winning an ICC trophy was in 2013 when the team won the Champions Trophy, hosted by England. India’s last World Cup trophy came in 2011 when they were one of the hosting countries. This time, the chances of the hosts are looking strong, and their chances of lifting the trophy are higher. Every Indian cricket team fan is hoping the ten-year drought for an ICC trophy will end this time.
India’s matches: vs. Australia on Oct 8, vs. Afghanistan on Oct 11, vs. Pakistan on Oct 14, vs. Bangladesh on Oct 19, vs. New Zealand on Oct 22, vs. England on Oct 29, vs. Sri Lanka on Nov 2, vs. South Africa on Nov 5, and vs. The Netherlands on Nov 12.
